The cross and the safety pin

[Anonymous]

I'm not one for internet memes, but after the election, someone posted a picture of a cross and the text "Wouldn't it be great if THIS was the symbol for safety and acceptance?" (This was in reference to people wearing safety pins to indicate solidarity with vulnerable groups of people.)

This meme was very jarring to me, and I was sad to say I agreed with it. I feel more and more that Christianity in America is non-accepting. I feel like there are these incessant battles about nativity scenes and crosses in government spaces, and this is a well-settled 1st amendment issue. A clerk who won't grant marriage licenses to gays becomes a folk hero. There are the bakers who will not bake cakes for gays, the yarn stores that won't sell pink yarn to women for hats, anti-refugee sentiment, anti-transgender bathrooms, etc. It seems to me that a Christian these days is the last person that a vulnerable or non-white or non-Christian person would seek help from. Unborn children would be the only exception.

Do you agree that the face of Christianity in America is no longer the face of acceptance? As a person of color and of a minority faith, I am becoming more uncomfortable around of people who self-identify as "I'm a Christian" (different than saying "I am Christian")

[Anonymous]

They have always been like this. They just feel free to make it more public now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have always been like this. They just feel free to make it more public now.

I think it's changed and gotten worse over the years. I know Christians who are embarrassed by other Christians now. That's a new thing.

[Anonymous]

I am not Christian, nor am I a Christian, but I think this generalization is just that - a generalization. We live in a very diverse society, and there are so many different denominations in Christianity. And even among congregations/people in the same denomination, there are huge differences.

Now if we look at the history of the church and its historic treatment of people of other religions...

[Anonymous]

I am a non-Christian. I do not judge all of Christianity monolithically. What I see are some Christians with a strong orientation toward social justice actioneering as part of their faith and some Christians with deep conservative views as part of their faith. As with most historical documents, multiple readings of Christian texts have arisen to justify each of these stances on Christianity.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you are asking the wrong question, or perhaps I am reading your question not as you intend it.

Are you seriously asking that Christians should "accept" blatant sin, all in the name of tolerance? Please give me an example of what you are referring to; your post has a lot of holes in it.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm Christian (catholic). I feel like there are. Retain code words that christians of the conservative bent use...when I hear them, I am immediately turned off and my guess is that the person does not have a very Christian spirit. One of those code words is when someone describes someone else as, for example. "a nice Christian woman." I've never heard anyone say that who wasn't kind of a bigot. I've nevefnoticed the distinction between "I'm Christian" and "I am a Christian"...now I'm going to be listening for that one!

[Anonymous]

As a foreigner from a majority Catholic country in Europe, I'm always surprised at the way Americans categorize people into groups.

As in: Asians must be math-inclined and high achieving, Blacks and Hispanics are poor and uneducated, Whites can be red-necks or elite, Christians have to be extremely conservative, millennials are entitled, baby boomers are self-centered, etc...

Stop it already. It makes you look stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you are asking the wrong question, or perhaps I am reading your question not as you intend it.

Are you seriously asking that Christians should "accept" blatant sin, all in the name of tolerance? Please give me an example of what you are referring to; your post has a lot of holes in it.

Christians accept gluttons and liars and gossips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
As a foreigner from a majority Catholic country in Europe, I'm always surprised at the way Americans categorize people into groups.

As in: Asians must be math-inclined and high achieving, Blacks and Hispanics are poor and uneducated, Whites can be red-necks or elite, Christians have to be extremely conservative, millennials are entitled, baby boomers are self-centered, etc...

Stop it already. It makes you look stupid.

Please tell me you see the irony in your post about what Americans do. Lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
As a foreigner from a majority Catholic country in Europe, I'm always surprised at the way Americans categorize people into groups.

As in: Asians must be math-inclined and high achieving, Blacks and Hispanics are poor and uneducated, Whites can be red-necks or elite, Christians have to be extremely conservative, millennials are entitled, baby boomers are self-centered, etc...

Stop it already. It makes you look stupid.

Please tell me you see the irony in your post about what Americans do. Lol.

I don't. We certainly don't categorize people like you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
As a foreigner from a majority Catholic country in Europe, I'm always surprised at the way Americans categorize people into groups.

As in: Asians must be math-inclined and high achieving, Blacks and Hispanics are poor and uneducated, Whites can be red-necks or elite, Christians have to be extremely conservative, millennials are entitled, baby boomers are self-centered, etc...

Stop it already. It makes you look stupid.

Please tell me you see the irony in your post about what Americans do. Lol.

I don't. We certainly don't categorize people like you do.

You just did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a non-Christian. I do not judge all of Christianity monolithically. What I see are some Christians with a strong orientation toward social justice actioneering as part of their faith and some Christians with deep conservative views as part of their faith. As with most historical documents, multiple readings of Christian texts have arisen to justify each of these stances on Christianity.

This. OP, as a self-described "member of a minority faith" you probably don't want people making gross generalizations about people in your faith based on the actions of its most extreme elements.

Do what you'd want others to do for you: open your eyes, look around a bit, and you will see all the churches ministering to the homeless, the churches with women and even gay pastors, the sanctuary church movement that welcomes immigrants, and so on.